Local Beaches

Surf Beaches

Port Stephens has many excellent surfing beaches, which give surfers, swimmers and fisherman of all levels great enjoyment.

One Mile Beach

One Mile Beach is our local beach, just a 400-metre walk from Wanderers Retreat to the Surf Life Saving Club. One Mile Beach offers a wonderful experience for swimmers, surfers, kite boarders, fishers, beachcombers and anyone wishing to enjoy.

One Mile Beach is a patrolled beach during the summer months, and with areas suitable for all standards of surfers and all ages, it is the best beach on the Tomaree Peninsula to surf at.

At the entrance to the beach is a restaurant/cafe where you can enjoy breakfast, lunch or dinner. The Learn to Surf School provides surfing lessons and board hire.

While enjoying a leisurely walk to One Mile Beach you may see one of the local koalas or some of the other native animals which abound and live in the light bushland.

With spectacular views One Mile Beach is not to be missed. Why not do the sunrise walk?

Kingsley Beach

Kingsley Beach is a beautiful beach with lovely sands and vegetation. The views are spectacular and you can often be the only people on the beach when you visit Kingsley or Little Kingsley beach.

Samurai Beach

Samurai Beach offers naturalists the opportunity to get back to nature by the surf – clothing is optional. For the keen fisherman Samurai Beach is the perfect spot for ocean beach fishing with 4WD access – don’t forget to get a permit and fishing licence at the garage in Anna Bay.

Stockton Beach and Birubi Beach

Stockton Beach, nearby, is a must see experience. The Stockton Blight Sand Dunes are the longest moving sand dunes in the southern hemisphere.

The dunes run a full 32 kms in length, cover 2,500 hectares from Birubi Beach at Anna Bay through to the township of Stockton on the fringe of Newcastle.These truly awe-inspiring dunes reach heights of over 40 meters with slopes up to 60 degrees to form a majestic, moonscape.

Enjoy a meal while whale spotting at the Crest Café located at the Birubi Beach Surf Club.

Box Beach, Wreck Beach and Zenith Beach

Surrounded by National Park these beaches offer a wonderful opportunity for surfing, swimming, fishing and whale watching (June to October). Zenith Beach is located at the foot of Tomaree Headland one of the best land based game fishing locations on the coast.

Calm Water Beaches
Fingal Bay Beach

The Patrolled Beach at Fingal Bay is perfect for family fun. It is situated in semi-enclosed waters and is an excellent venue for long beach walks, flying a kite or fishing along the rocks. Fingal Bay Lighthouse is situated on the northern headland and on low tides you can cross the sand spit to the headland.

Shoal Bay Beach

Just a 15-minute drive from Wanderers Retreat you will find one of the most scenic non ocean beaches in the Port Stephens area. The Shoal Bay beach is sheltered by Tomaree headland.A view of Shoal Bay Beach that is not to be missed, is from the Inner Lighthouse which is situated on the southern headland of Shoal Bay.

The pristine beach with soft golden sand is perfect for swimming, picnicking, walking and watching the sunset over “The Bay”.

When at Shoal Bay we recommend that you walk along the pathway around the base of Tomaree headland where you will find a lovely picnic ground, gun emplacements and the torpedo tubes which were used during World War II.

For the moderately fit the walk through the Tomaree National Park to the top of Tomaree Headland offers one of the Top Ten panoramic views in the country.

LITTLE BEACH

Little Beach is only a 15 minute drive from Wanderers Retreat. It offers disabled access to the water via a wheel chair ramp and it’s lovely golden sand and play equipment make it the perfect spot for families to enjoy all that “The Bay” has to offer.

From Little Beach you can walk to the Inner Lighthouse and see the view out through the heads and north to Broughton Island.
Dolphins are often spotted from the beach and around the headland at Little Beach.

Little Beach also boasts one of the largest boat launching ramps in Port Stephens and the use of the ramp and fish cleaning facilities make it a regular haunt of the local pelicans.

Between Little Beach and the Nelson Bay Foreshore is a marine sanctuary which offers excellent snorkelling and diving. This sanctuary is a fishing free zone – fines apply.

OTHER BEACHES

There are numerous other beaches around “The Bay” which are perfect for family enjoyment.